Christie, a possible GOP presidential contender who has been damaged by a traffic jam scandal linked to some of his aides and allies, was speaking to a gathering hosted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a socially conservative group. He received a warm reception, and indicated he has no plans to leave the political stage anytime soon.
“I believe if you’re pro-life, as I am, you need to be pro-life for the whole life,” Christie said. “You can’t just afford to be pro-life when a human being is in the womb. You have to be pro-life after … Sometimes being pro-life is messy, sometimes it’s difficult. Because human beings make bad choices, we are flawed. And I doubt that there’s one person in this audience who hasn’t made a bad choice, or a bad decision in your life.”
“What works is giving those people — non-violent drug offenders, addicts — the ability to be able to get the tools they need to be able deal with their disease,” he said, even as he reminded the audience that as a “former federal prosecutor,” he wasn’t talking about “violent, sociopath dealers.” “I doubt that there is any person in this room who hasn’t had the problem of drug or alcohol addiction touch their families or their neighbors or their friends.”
He also argued that the education system “cares more about the comfort of adults than the potential of children,” saying it should be easier to reward good teachers and fire bad ones.
Christie, known for his often blunt, combative style, also used the speech to slam President Barack Obama’s foreign policy — and to signal that the current administration could learn a thing or two from his leadership style.
